Intermountain will implement the International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative (IDDSI) systemwide on Thursday, November 12. IDDSI (pronounced id-si) is the new global standard for caring for patients with dysphagia—difficulty swallowing.
Sara Browning, chair of the roll-out committee, says, “Dysphagia has historically been difficult to treat consistently and safely. With the implementation of IDDSI, we’re taking the steps required to raise the care we provide to the next level, improving both safety and quality for our patients experiencing dysphagia.”
IDDSI provides the following updates to make dysphagia care better:
- Separate guidelines for adult and pediatric dysphagia care
- Scientifically grounded testing methods
- Easily translated names for each dysphagia level
Speech Language Pathology will play a key role in the IDDSI roll-out and in successful dysphagia care. Angela Menlove, rehabilitation services operations director, says, “Having a standard language to communicate safest diet consistencies across the continuum of care, between facilities, and across the spectrum of age is important work. The International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative will allow us to do this and will also ensure our food recommendations are culturally inclusive as it facilitates testing and communication on a global level.”
Caregivers in culinary services, speech therapy, nursing, some physician groups, and clinical nutrition will see the greatest impact from this change. You can expect to see new IDDSI orders early on November 12. Current NDD dysphagia diet orders will be transitioned throughout the day to the new standards. Diet order references are available in iCentra.
A new dysphagia menu aligned with IDDSI standards will roll out with the IDDSI implementation. “The new dysphagia menu addresses more specific needs for our patient guests in relation to the IDDSI standards,” says Alex Govern, Intermountain’s system level executive chef and creator of the new IDDSI menu. “The dishes associated with this update continue the trend of serving minimally manipulated foods with real flavor, focusing on making items in-house when possible.”
For additional information about the change to IDDSI, visit the Intermountain IDDSI webpage.